Nights at St Mungo's
by Bellatrix567
Summary: Severus is recovering from the final battle at St. Mungo's when he receives a surprise visitor... minor S/N
1. Visitor

**I've been thinking of a story like this for a long time, but haven't had the motivation/time to write it. Nagini and Severus are both really interesting and complicated characters when not in humor fics, and therefore pretty difficult to write; he's probably a little OOC.**

**About my other three Death Eater stories... I'm not ditching them (got drafts of the second chapter for two of them), but I have precious little time to write fanfic in November. Those of you who are doing NaNoWriMo (challenge to write a 50,000 word novel in a month) will understand.**

**Enjoy!**

There was the knock at the door. Again. Severus groaned; it was one o'clock in the morning. Couldn't the idiots leave him be? He didn't answer the repeated knocking, but whoever it was opened the door anyway. It was locked, but not by magic, and alohomora was a simple charm.

Severus didn't try to sit up from the hospital bed; the bite wounds throbbed enough already. Even though they weren't injected with venom, they took long enough to heal. Severus closed his eyes and pretended he was asleep. His brain wasn't fully awake yet. Maybe he could slip back into the beckoning drowsiness and deal with this in the morning…

"Ssseverus," a voice hissed; soft footsteps made their way to his bed. Now Severus' eyes opened, wide, his body tense at the sound of the voice.

I'm dreaming, he told himself. This isn't real. She's dead. I'm dreaming…

"Severus, look at me," the voice said sharply. If it had been Lily's voice, Severus would have been on his feet at once. But this wasn't Lily. Of course the deceased come back to haunt him couldn't have been those whom he wanted to see.

"Sorry, the bites you gave me tend to get in the way of any neck movement," he snapped, still not willing to face her, even if he'd acknowledged the fact she was in the room.

Slim, graceful hands appeared in his peripheral vision, one on his chin and the other on his neck as they twisted his head to face their owner. Severus winced, gritting his teeth to avoid crying out in pain. He felt a few of the stitches in his neck come loose, ripping against the torn flesh; his eyes darted wildly before landing on the face of Nagini.

She was paler since her last transfiguration, her skin a bit greener, her form slimmer and her hair dark and long. But Nagini's face was still the same, her eyes grey-gold serpentine, with a slim nose and thin lips; but she was pretty in her slow, snakelike way.

"How the hell did you get in here?" Severus whispered, wincing again as he spoke, the way his vocal cords moved at the base of his throat.

"How the hell do you think?" Nagini said, her voice a hissing whisper of grief and cold fury. Severus noticed a thin white scar across her neck - all the way across her neck, where he was told Gryffindor's sword had removed her head from her body.

"Why are you alive?" Severus continued, even though every word sent jolts of pain down his spine.

"I'm alive because of magic," Nagini snapped. "You, Severus, are alive because I spared your life. The Dark Lord would have had me kill you."

"You didn't do much better," Severus snarled, remembering the way the blood had streamed from the four fang wounds. He vaguely registered the way Nagini referred to her supposed master, Voldemort, as 'the Dark Lord' now, a sign of respect she had never granted him when he was alive.

"You're alive, aren't you? I could have killed you in a minute," Nagini hissed.

"But you didn't." And the unspoken question: why?

"You were a traitor," Nagini continued, ignoring him. "You are a traitor. Hell, it was so obvious, even from the start. I could have let the Dark Lord know - I could have convinced him you needed to be disposed of. I could have killed you from the very start. I could have stood aside and let the Dark Lord kill you when he doubted your loyalty. I was the one who convinced him to let me bite you that night… it's because of me you're alive." Granted. Severus never tried to deny it. Nagini's eyes narrowed.

"God, Severus, I should have killed you," she spat. "You miserable trai…"

"You didn't seem to have a problem with it when dear old Vol…" Severus began, but he never got a chance to finish; the back of Nagini's hand came in sharp contact with his cheek. Spots appeared in his vision as pain shot down, embracing every fiber of his body.

"I would just kill you now," Nagini hissed, her voice barely audible although her mouth was right beside his ear, her lips tickling his skin. Not that he paid that any mind - his mind was too busy focusing on the blood that had started to run onto his shoulder. "I would just kill you now, but there's something you have to do for me first."

Severus smiled, somehow, and muttered, "What's the point of that, if you're just going to kill me after?"

"I won't kill you after," Nagini hissed, pulling back. "It's something that will take many nights to complete, and after it's finished, I'll leave you alone."

"Or I could just call for the Healers."

"Not before I snapped your neck, you couldn't," Nagini said sharply. "Severus, I've saved your life hundreds of times. I've taught you Parseltongue. You've taught me how to read on the Dark Lord's orders. It's time you give something back to me, before we disappear from each other's lives forever."

She was right, in a way, not that Severus would grant her the victory of recognizing that.

"All right," Severus hissed. "What do you want, pray tell?"

"You're going to turn me into an Animagus," Nagini said, glad that he'd got the message. "And you're going to do it properly, or I will kill you."

Yes, that would take many nights. Depending on the frequency of her visits, it could be months. And if it took months, time would pass, and eventually she would no longer have the threat of death hanging over his head.

"How do you know I won't simply kill you once you hand over your wand?" Severus asked. He didn't bother asking where Nagini had got the wand.

"I don't. Just remember what I said thirty seconds ago," Nagini said. "I've saved your neck so many times. You owe me one."

"Then you really hurt my neck," Severus said. Nagini ignored him.

"You'll do it, then?" she asked. Her voice was still calm and balanced, but her snakelike eyes pleaded with him.

Ever so slightly, Severus felt himself nod.

"Thank you," Nagini's voice portrayed only a hint of gratitude as she surveyed him. Severus was hardly in any condition to be casting spells. "I'll come back soon," she said, "with instructions. Don't summon Aurors." Severus would have groaned if talking didn't hurt his throat. He wasn't that stupid - he would have to tell the Aurors that he'd talked, almost bargained with Nagini if he was to turn her in.

Nagini lifted her hand albit awkwardly in farewell as she strode toward the door. Severus sighed, closing his eyes as he heard the door shut. He hadn't shaken off all traces of the Dark Lord yet.

**I stopped writing about halfway through and picked it up again a week later, and I'm hoping no one will notice... anyway, review!**


	2. Memories of Betrayal

**The first part is a memory during the Battle of Hogwarts.**

**Thank you to no-name, my ONLY reviewer (yes, I am that desperate), I'm really happy you think my story is different. I guess it's that not a lot of people write fics about Nagini - usually the female character Severus talks with after he survives is Hermione (never understood that pairing - no offense to any of you who do).**

**Okay, I should probably stop rambling now... in my defense, it is pretty late...**

"It cannot be any other way," said Voldemort. "I must master the wand, Severus. Master the wand, and I master Potter at last." His wand swiped the air. Severus thought he was ready, but the nonverbal Shield Charm was a split second too late; Nagini's tank split open. He was only able to manage a yell as the serpent poured onto the ground, then raised her head to equal to two wizards'.

"_Kill_," Voldemort hissed, his Parseltongue barely audible. Nagini's gaze flitted to him, then she turned back and locked eyes with Severus. He couldn't fathom the grey-gold depths, and this was no time for Legilimency - it was just another betrayal. One among countless others. He needed to get away.

The thought had hardly completed itself when Nagini sprung toward him; her heavy body curled and twisted around Severus, tripping him up and bringing him to his knees. She pressed on his arm until he dropped his wand; Severus gasped for breath as Nagini pulled tighter. There was a nasty crack as a rib snapped, followed by several more. Severus cried out in pain.

"_Sorry_," Nagini hissed, squeezing again. A soft thud sounded as Severus crashed to the floor completely, unable to hold himself up as he gasped for air. Nagini landed heavily on his chest, then raised herself up and smashed down on his collarbone; that snapped, too.

_Why are you doing this?Why_- Severus didn't have time to complete the thought before two fangs plunged into his throat, again and again.

"_Nagini_," Voldemort hissed, his voice far, far away. Severus didn't have the energy to try to translate the Parseltongue. Nagini hissed something in reply, then slid away from Severus where he lay. He immediately gasped in air, choking on a wet, sticky substance rising in his throat - blood. Blood pooled around Severus, seeped into his robes and trickled across his skin, as he lay, waiting for death, drowning in a world of pain...

Severus' eyes flew open; his breathing was labored despite the pain. Why did he keep having nightmares? Hell, the ordeal was bad enough to go through once…

Now he was helping Nagini. Or he'd agreed to it, at any rate. The same person - snake - who'd put him in this place. Who'd whispered something that sounded dangerously close to 'sorry' as she drove his smashed rib bone into his lung. What the hell had he been thinking?

Potter and his friends had arrived not sixty seconds later. Severus had barely been conscious when he handed over his memories - his thoughts weren't even in full sentences. And the words 'pain' and 'blood' appeared more than was strictly necessary. He'd been told the Granger girl put him under a highly advanced full-body freezing spell - a spell which basically froze his entire body in place until he was taken to St. Mungo's. Exactly why she'd decided to do that - why she thought he'd want her to - Severus would never know.

**Nagini's reasoning will be explained... eventually. After I rewrite the next chapter.**

**REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW**** REVIEW REVIEW**** REVIEW REVIEW**** REVIEW REVIEW**** REVIEW REVIEW**** REVIEW REVIEW**** REVIEW REVIEW**** REVIEW REVIEW**** REVIEW REVIEW**** REVIEW REVIEW**** REVIEW REVIEW**** REVIEW REVIEW**** REVIEW REVIEW**** REVIEW REVIEW**** REVIEW REVIEW**** REVIEW REVIEW**** REVIEW REVIEW**** REVIEW REVIEW**** REVIEW REVIEW**** REVIEW REVIEW**** REVIEW REVIEW**** REVIEW REVIEW**! I copy-and-paste that unashamedly with the knowledge that you will merely skim over and think 'this person wants reviews'. If you actually read each and every word, all of which are the same, I will give you a COOKIE! I will also give you a cookie if you review.


	3. Second Night

**Thank you to my AWESOME reviewer, no-name. I took this chapter down because I felt that nothing much really happened in it, and I needed some form of explanation from Nagini as to why exactly she attacked so viciously. Ah, well, I guess that can wait until the fifth chapter... I've got something planned for the fourth. So I just posted this one again - didn't really change the story much.**

**All the same, enjoy!**

The next time, Nagini didn't bother to knock. Severus knew who it was before he heard her footsteps, or the hissing in Parseltongue he didn't have the energy to translate. He'd been waiting for two weeks for her to return; lately, he'd hoped that she'd forgotten.

"Back again, Nagini," he whispered. "Long time no see."

"I hope you enjoyed it," Nagini said sarcastically. In his peripheral vision, Severus could see her draw up a chair with her wand and drag it beside his bed. "From the unlocked door, can I guess you haven't turned me in?"

"Yes, and you can be grateful for it."

Nagini snorted derisively. "How have those bite wounds been healing?"

"Not well, after you re-opened them on your last visit." In fact, they'd barely made progress at all; Severus was loathe to the fact that he still wasn't permitted to walk, stand, or even sit up of his own accord.

Nagini seemed to be considering something; at long last, she said, "Tell the Healers to look up the techniques used to heal bites in Albania."

"No use; they've decided not to use magic," Severus let his tone say just how much he approved of that. If it was someone else, he was sure he would be able to brew some sort of potion that would help, but right now…

Nagini let out a sharp laugh at that. "Clearly you haven't been commissioned very good Healers - or are all human doctors that stupid? Did they even realize that you'd only been bitten with my bottom teeth?"

Severus closed his eyes briefly; why was he having a casual conversation with Nagini? He'd forgotten how easy it was to talk to her when she was human.

"What are you here for, Nagini?" he asked, his voice suddenly cool and firm.

"I'm here so you can make me an Animagus," Nagini said, switching to the new topic immediately.

"Can't you do it yourself? You're not a Squib, are you?"

"Being a Horcrux left me with something," Nagini said, her voice tinged with sadness; she brushed it away and continued, "I don't want to live my life as a weak, stupid, pathetic human. I'm only in this form because it's easier to communicate and get places without too many asking questions. You're going to transfigure me back to myself and make me an Animagus to a human."

"Are you sure that will work?" As far as he knew, it had never been done before - no one ever needed or wanted it done before.

"I can bring a rat next time for you to practice," Nagini said. "It has to work."

But right now, Severus knew, Nagini probably wouldn't even trust him with a wand. There was too much tension between them that still wasn't out in the open.

"You want me to turn a rat into a human?" Severus asked. "Having to deal with Wormtail was enough." He felt no remorse; they could both agree that Wormtail was a weak, lying coward and had no actual use in the Death Eater circle.

"You can kill it after," Nagini said.

"Won't that cause a bit of suspicion?"

"You've been a Death Eater for nearly twenty years; I hope you've figured out how to vanish a body by now."

"I wasn't active for thirteen years, though, so you'll excuse me if I've forgotten," Severus said. He wouldn't have believed that he could still almost joke with Nagini after her last, very painful visit.

"Failure to vanish a body is failure to the…" Nagini trailed off, letting the words 'Dark Lord' hang in the air, unsaid. She wasn't going to poke fun at Voldemort now that he was dead.

"Seeing as he's dead, can I trust you to pardon me in his place?" All right, he was testing her. There wasn't a trace of humor in Severus' tone now. Nagini scowled, but she didn't reach out and hurt him for the slur on her dead master, as many would have done. Nevermind Bellatrix…

"Seeing as you're incapable of pretty much anything right now, I suppose there's no point in my staying here," Nagini said suddenly. Severus averted his gaze and didn't respond; she began to walk toward the door.

"When will you be back?" the words were out of his mouth before Severus could stop him. Nagini stopped and turned around to look at him.

"Value my company, do you?"

"Not really," Severus said. Although it was preferable to the idiot Healers assigned to him… "More so that I can get a good night's sleep the night before."

"Ah," said Nagini, the corner of her lip twitching. "In that case, I think I'll withhold it. Good to see I didn't screw you up so much that you lost your ability to be sarcastic." With that, she opened the door and was gone.

**This one was shorter than the last... but someone should leave me a review! PLEASE REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW (heh heh not demanding or nothing, am I?)**


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